Concrete building-block wall.



No. 877,996. PATENTED FEB. 4, 1908.

I P. M. HENRY.

CONCRETE BUILDING BLOCK WALL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 19, 1907.

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PATENTED FEB. 4, 1908.

- O F. M. HENRY. CONCRETE BUILDING BLOCK WALL.

FRANCIS HENRY, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

CONCRETE-B UILDING-BLOCK WALL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 4, 1908.

Application filed January 19 1907. Serial N0. 353074:-

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS M. HENRY, of Minneapolis, Hennepin county, Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Concrete Building Block WValls, of which the following is a specifica tion.

The object of my invention is to provide a wall composed of blocks arranged to interlock with one another, and having no air spaces in themselves but adapted when placed together, to form a series of vertical air openings or flues. A

The invention consists generally in providing a block substantially T-shaped in form, the tongue or shank of the T on each block extending through the wall from one side to the other when the blocks are placed together and the ends of the blocks having webs andconcave surfaces between said webs and the intermediate tongue, whereby when the blocks are placed one upon another, vertical air fiues will be formed at intervals in the wall.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wall embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a top view of the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional view through the wall. 4 is a top view of a modified construction. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a corner of the wall. Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing the manner of arranging the blocks around the casing of a window.

In the drawing, 2 represents a block of concrete construction, having webs 3 at its ends and an intermediate centrally arranged tongue 4 between which and said ends concave surfaces 5 are formed, the outer face of the block being fiat and corrugated or rough ened so that plaster will readily adhere thereto, being thrown on to produce the slapdash efiect or put on with a trowel, as pre ferred.

At the base of the tongue in line substantially With the ends of the webs, shoulders 6 are formed of substantially the same width as the thickness of the webs and against which the webs abut when the blocks are built into the Wall. The tongues are of sufficient length to extend from one side of the wall to the other, and each tongue has on one edge a transverse groove or recess 7 that is adapted to register with a corresponding groove 8 in the edge of the contiguous block, and each tongue is provided on its opposite edge with a transverse rib 9 which fits into the groove 8 in the block, and a similar rib 10 is provided on the edge of the block to enter the groove in the tongue and the continuations of such groove on each side, and thereby lock the blocks together. and prevent any possibility of lateral movement after being placed in the wall.

As shown in Fig. 1, the blocks are oppositely arranged, the tongue of one block having its end projecting through and exposed on one side of the wall, and the tongue of the opposite block extending in the opposite direction and exposed. on that side of the wall. The webs of one block fit into and abut against the shoulders of the adjoining blocks and the concave surfaces between the webs and their tongue form when the blocks are oppositely placed,.vertical fiues or air spaces which-prevent the transmission of moisture through the Wall without the necessity of forming spaces or flues in the blocks themselves. In this way the use of cores for forming such holes or spaces and the labor incident to such use will be entirely avoided. The blocks may be made of any suitable size according to the thickness and strength of the wall. The ends of the tongues, as indicated in Fig. 1, will form regular markings on the wall and present a pleasing ornamental effect, and will relieve in a great measure the fiat undecorative appearance usually characteristic of a wall of this kind. As heretofore stated, the surfaces may be treated with any suitable plaster efiectr In Fig. 4 I have shown a slight modification, which consists in providing wedgeshaped tongues 4 on each block and beveling the ends of the blocks so that they will fit snugly against the corresponding surfaces of the tongues. These tongues extend. through from one side to the other, as in Fig. 1, and the blocks are made a little heavier and the concave surfaces between the webs and the tongues cause the formation of nearly circular flue holes. This form of block may be made lighter by means of holes 11 and 12 which are cored out of the tongue and the main portion of each block.

In Fig. 5 I have shown the block adapted for use in the corner of the wall, every other course bonding the abutting ends of the Walls together and the spaces between the end blocks being filled by short block sections 13 having grooves in their surfaces to register with the corresponding grooves in contiguous blocks. This construction insures a very substantial wall, the outer face being broken at intervals by the lines or joints formed at the ends of the blocks and at the points where the tongues extendthrough the wall.

In Fig. 6 a window casing 14 is shown with the manner of arranging the blocks around it indicated. I prefer to break away the webs of the blocks that abut against the easing to make room for boXes 15 wherein the sash weights 16 are hung in the usual way.

I claim as my invention:

1. A wall composed of T-shaped blocks each having a rectangular head forming a stretcher with a tongue molded transversely on said head midway between its ends and forming a header, the inner surface of said head on each side of said tongue being concave and the recesses therein extending continuously from the base of said tongue to points near the ends of said head, and the ends of said head having webs projecting therefrom in planes substantially parallel with the plane of said tongue and on the same side of the block, and the ends of said webs being coincident with the longitudinal center of the wall, and the adjoining blocks in each horizontal'course being reversely arranged and the webs on the head of one block abutting the tongues of contiguous blocks, and the surfaces of the heads and the ends of the tongues alternating in each horizontal course on both sides of the wall, whereby a Flemish bond construction will be 2. A wall composed of Tshaped blocks each having a rectangular head forming a stretcher and a single tongue molded transversely on said head midway between its ends and forming a header, 'the ends of said rectangular head having webs projecting therefrom in planes substantially parallel with the plane of said tongue and on the same side of the block, and the surface of said head having recesses formed therein and extending continuously between said webs and tongue and said tongue having recesses on each side in line substantially with the ends of said webs and coincident with the longitudinal center of the wall, and the adjoining blocks in each horizontal course being reversely arranged, and the webs on the head of one block fitting into the recesses in the tongues of contiguous blocks,

and the surfaces of the heads and the ends of the tongues alternating in each horizontal course on both sides of the wall, whereby a Flemish bond construction will be formed, and said recesses forming, when the blocks are placed in the wall, a series of vertical air flues, substantially as described;

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 11th day of January 1907.

' FRANCIS M. HENRY. 

